While reaching the 2020 goal of cutting CO² emission by 20% from 2005 levels is in doubt, according to a recent GEO report, the news is more positive when it comes to utilities reaching the currently mandated 20-percent renewables requirement well ahead of the 2020 target. Now that target may be increased.

Reported by Ann Rascalli

Under current state law, investor-owned utilities in Colorado must get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020. However, if a bill introduced by Representative Max Tyler wins state legislative approval, that figure would jump to 30 percent by 2020, with at least 5 percent coming from smaller “distributed” sources.

Colorado House Bill 1001  sponsored by Tyler, a Democrat from Jefferson County, would up the state’s electric utilities’ renewable energy portfolio standard to the 30% threshhold, and a similar bill is expected to be introduced into the Colorado Senate by Sen. Gail Schwartz, a Democrat from Snowmass Village.

The 30 percent renewables target would be the second most ambitious standard in the United States, trailing only California’s 33 percent renewable energy requirement.

According to spokesman Mark Stutz, Xcel Energy could endorse the 30 percent standard if its customers could continue to be protected from big price increases. That’s big news given the fact that it is now one of the largest utility generators of renewable energy sources in the country. Currently, utilities can’t charge customers more than 2 percent of their monthly bill to pay for their increased use of renewable energy. “As long as the cap on increased costs remains in place as protectionfor our customers,” Stutz said, “we are willing to consider increasing the standard.”

 Xcel Energy says reaching the 30-percent mandate is certainly a possibility, so it may not matter whether the state mandates the new target or not. The utility company’s Tom Henley told the Colorado Independent: “The concept of trying to reach a 30 percent renewable level for Xcel Energy in Colorado is one that is not impossible, with or without legislation.”